July 06, 2007

Rider numbers, Prologue start times assigned

Rider numbers are out. As expected, Pereiro has the lowest number in the Tour, but at 11, since Tour organizers chose to skip the coveted number 1. Pereiro's Caisse d'Epargne squad is number 11-19; followed by T-Mobile with Michael Rogers at 21; CSC with Sastre at 31; Predictor-Lotto with Evans at 41; Rabobank's Menchov at Phil Liggett's favorite, number 51; AG2R with Moreau at 61; Zubeldia leading Euskaltel-Euskadi in 71; Discovery Channel's Levi Leipheimer in 111; Tour favorite Alexandre Vinokourov wears 191 for Astana; and David Millar in 201 for Saunier Duval-Prodir.

July 04, 2007

CONI recommends year ban for Petacchi, out of Tour

The Italian Olympic committee recommends a 1-year ban on super sprinter Alessandro Petacchi, after Petacchi tested high for the asthma medication salbutamol in May.

Petacchi, who won 5 stages of this year's Giro d'Italia, holds a “therapeutic use exemption,” or TUE, for the otherwise banned substance. With a TUE, he is presumed innocent with salbutamol levels of up to 1,000 nanograms/millileter, but one test reported a level of 1,320 nanograms/millileter. Petacchi pled his case with an official of CONI, the Italian Olympic committee, on Monday.

Petacchi is the leader of the Milram Tour team, which is largely built around delivering him to the front of the pack with 200 meters to the finish line of the race's flat stages.

In light of the recommendation, Milram removed Petacchi from its provisional Tour roster, replacing him with Andrey Grivko of Ukraine.

Barloworld rounds it out

I missed Barloworld's official announcement on Friday, when they expanded from 6 confirmed riders to 9. The team eliminated one of its preannounced 6, Fabrizio Guidi, then added Paolo Longo Borghini, Gianpaolo Cheula, Enrico Degano, and Kastantsin Borghini.

Barloworld 2007 Tour de France roster:

Felix Cardenas Ravalo (Colombia)

Gianpaolo Cheula (Italy)

Enrico Degano (Italy)

Alexander Efimkin (Russia)

Robert Hunter (South Africa)

Paolo Longo Borghini (Italy)

Kastantsin Siutsou (Belarus)

Mauricio Soler Hernandez (Colombia)

Geraint Thomas (Great Britain)

Thomas, 22, would be the first Welsh Tour rider since 1968 (Colin Lewis).

Boonen leads Quick Step for Tour

Quick Step's final Tour roster is out. Their new Italian national champion, Giovanni Visconti, won't be in the Tour, nor will Paolo Bettini. Looks like a hard team that can help Tom Boonen take a shot at the overall green jersey.

FdJeux, Bouygues Telecom, Credit Agricole confirm Tour squads

At Française des Jeux, Sebastien Joly and Bradley McGee are unavailable, leaving Sandy Casar the team's remote GC hope. Thomas Lovkvist may factor in the young riders' competition, as could Remy Gregorio, a heralded young Frenchman.

Française des Jeux 2007 Tour de France roster:

Sandy Casar (France)

Sebastien Chavanel (France)

Mickael Delage (France)

Philippe Gilbert (Belgium)

Remy Di Gregorio (France)

Lilian Jegou (France)

Matthieu Ladagnous (France)

Thomas Lovkvist (Sweden)

Benoit Vaugrenard (France)

Four rookies: Chavanel, Delage, Di Gregorio, and Ladagnous.

At Bouyges Telecom, former world champion Laurent Brochard, the mullet-est man on two wheels, will miss the Tour.

June 29, 2007

Cañada replaces Gomez Marchante for Saunier Duval

Saunier Duval's José Angel Gomez Marchante will miss the Tour, after recent stomach problems were diagnosed as ulcerative colitis. He'll undergo a colonoscopy and other tests on Wednesday. The team hopes he'll return to action before the Vuelta a España.

Meanwhile, David Cañada will make his 4th Tour start in his teammate's place. Cañada was 3rd at the Tour de Georgia in April.

Milram names Petacchi to Tour squad despite hearing

Alessandro Petacchi, suspended and facing a hearing next week on a high salbutamol reading registered during the Giro d'Italia, nevertheless highlights the Team Milram 2007 Tour roster.

Six-time green jersey winner Erik Zabel, who recently confessed to using EPO to train for the Tour while riding for Telekom in 1996, is also on the squad, which will likely focus on sprint wins by the pair.

Milram 2007 Tour de France roster:

Alessandro Cortinovis (Italy)

Ralf Grabsch (Germany)

Christian Knees (Germany)

Brett Lancaster (Australia)

Alberto Ongarato (Italy)

Alessandro Petacchi (Italy)

Enrico Poitschke (Germany)

Marcel Sieberg (Germany)

Erik Zabel (Germany)

Andriy Grivko (Ukraine)

replaced Petacchi 7/4/07

Update: Andriy Grivko will replace Petacchi after a CONI official recommended a 1-year suspension for his salbutamol positive.

T-Mobile finalizes Tour roster

One Brit in, one Brit out at T-Mobile, as 22-year-old Mark Cavendish rides a string of early-season victories to a Tour start in London, but Roger Hammond misses out again.

The team will ride for Australia's Michael Rogers, who aims for a top-5 finish, with two sprint threats, Cavendish and Bernhard Eisel, and some experienced support riders in Kim Kirchen, Patrik Sinkewitz, Giuseppe Guerini, and Axel Merckx.

June 27, 2007

Discos fill out Tour dance card

No major surprises from America's Team, as Discovery Channel brings a Tour squad that can support the podium hopes (dreams?) of Levi Leipheimer as well as chasing a few stage wins.

Discovery Channel 2007 Tour de France roster:

Alberto Contador (Spain)

Vladimir Gusev (Russia)

George Hincapie (USA)

Levi Leipheimer (USA)

Egoi Martinez (Spain)

Benjamin Noval (Spain)

Sergio Paulinho (Portugal)

Yaroslav Popovych (Ukraine)

Tomas Vaitkus (Lithuania)

Director Johan Bruyneel said he has three goals for the Tour: Leipheimer on the podium, a stage win for the team, and Contador in the Best Young Rider jersey in Paris.

Hincapie won Stage 15 of the 2005 Tour, and led the race for a day last year. Popovych took Stage 12 of last year's Tour, and was himself the Best Young Rider in 2005. Leipheimer was 6th overall in the 2005 Tour, and is coming off a win at this year's Tour of California and two stage wins at the Tour de Georgia.

Stijn Devolder, who had been racing very well, will watch the Tour from home, as will veterans José Luis Rubiera and Pavel Padrnos.

Mayo won Stage 8 up Alpe d'Huez in the 2003 Tour and Stage 19 of this year's Giro d'Italia. David de la Fuente was the most combative rider of last year's Tour, after long attacks on Stage 2 and Stage 11. Rinero took the King of the Mountains in the 1998 Tour.

Alternates are Spain's Pedro Horrillo and Koos Moerenhout of the Netherlands.

Menchov is the team's GC threat, and was best young rider of the Tour in 2003. Rasmussen won the king of the mountains competition in 2005 and 2006. Six Rabobank riders have won Tour stages: Boogerd, Flecha, Freire, Menchov, Rasmussen, and Weening.